I am torn as well the Dynamic EQ and Volume features are very interesting to me but I could pass them up if Trinnov turns out to live up to the hype.

I am VERY curious about the implementation of the Reon, the ISF calibration is a big plus to me.

It was yesterday.....

I have also been very patiently waiting the 997, but it has been a very, very long wait, and no recent updates. The fact that beta units are out is encouraging, but seeing that the 972 is not out yet (and they were supposed to released mid july), Outlaw is not even close to the 60 day wait for release. It is August, the 997 will not be out until winter at least. The rumor started last year that it would be out last winter. Very, very dissapointing

And sorry, the banner at the top of the page said 10% off thru Aug 15th, but when I signed up for their "club" or whatever, it only dropped the price from $999 to $949.

Lots of questions here and at AVS regarding release dates and when Outlaw is able to sell the 997 and very little responses. I get the idea that with all of the delays that have happened and with the villagers half-read to grab for torches and pitchforks at the announcement of any more delays, Outlaw would rather not commit to any sort of availability date.

I do remember a poster at AVS with the user name of StereoJeff made some comment about the 997 would be available my Memorial Day, though I'd be really surprised if the 997 was available, it gives me the impression that Outlaw will be able to sell the 997 by then and the 60 day wait window will be over by about this time next month. Also seems to coincide with the fact that there are people on AVS who say they have 972's in their possession from a little more than a month ago.

My humorous side has the idea that at this point Outlaw just might wait to announce preorders when they have 997's in their offices ready to sell. Or in a nearby warehouse. However it works. When they have them on hand, anyway.

I can't say I'd really blame them, to be honest.

StereoJeff works for Sherwood, but I will leave my credit card in my wallet until Peter or Scott says Memorial Day. They are likely to do something very similar to the 990 release, which was announced when the first shipment (loaded with final production firmware) was on a freighter from Korea and less than four weeks away from shipping to customers.

I don't think that there have been ANY delays attributable to Outlaw - so far.

And if it turns out that they need more than 60 days after the 972 is released in order to get the 997 right, then so be it.

Come on guys. Do you really want them, or anyone for that matter, to sell you a hardware carcass with "working firmware to follow"?

You'll be buying this next unit to last four or five years. What's a few more months?

The ONLY reason that I jumped at the 886 was that the 997 was made in China. That's my own personal moral choice. I could have easily lived many more months with my Model 950 if I knew that I was going to eventually buy a 997. But since I knew it wasn't going to be a 997, I jumped to the 886.

I was one of the ones calling for Outlaw to tell us their plans for the new pre/pro. They told us. They've been clear. We can see what's happening over at Sherwood. And I'm concerned that Sherwood might be feeling so much pressure that they'll release something that's not quite ready for prime time. That will only make it harder on Outlaw. Then again Outlaw might benefit (in a somewhat perverse way) from seeing the tons of negative feedback that a poorly launched 972 will bring.

Thanks for the input, Gonk and Jeff!

It seems to me that Outlaw has a wiser way of handling release info and has more self-restraint in what to inform their customers on upcoming products. Other than their newsletter of declaring hopes that the 997 would be out 1st quarter of '09, that's been about it. (unless I've missed something.) Maybe I got caught up in the excitement of the progress of the 972; I'll admit blame, but this 997 sounds so promising, it's kinda hard to not get excited. I also miss the better sound that came from my old Pioneer Elite receiver. This Pioneer 1017 I'm currently with, I'd not call a slouch, but I do miss the better sound the 27TX had. Plus the newer sound formats with Blu-ray and this Trinnov sounds very promising... Control, Control must learn control!

I too would much rather have a product that's been worked through than buggy. I have been confused with people already owning the 972 but word that Sherwood is working out the bugs. Has Sherwood sold buggy units? Or are these in fact Beta testers and they can't acknowledge that? Are these beta testers little green men from a distant galaxy? Is my tinfoil hat on too tight? I had a Pioneer CD-R/RW deck that had just been released and it had really annoying issues, so I'm very much glad that Outlaw wants to sell a solid product.

Just like a lot of other people, some sort of release date would be nice, but in the meantime I just gotta remember to be patient. Oh, and breathe... that's it, breathe.

Oh, and I also wanted to clarify my earlier post. I didn't state it very well, and might have given the impression that I thought Outlaw had a reason to be concerned with anything they might have done to imply fault in upset customers due to the delay. I think Sherwood might have made some missteps in doing this, though, and that Outlaw is simply not giving out info to give their customers similar grievances, which both of you stated good evidence and reasons. Thanks again!

For what its worth, I've only seen two posters on AVS that have actual R-972s in their systems. One appears to be some sort of insider, the other does truly appear to be an average Joe. Both of them have stated that they have experienced no bugs. It is possible that these early units have each been individually tested and only those that are bug free have been released. They may not be releasing the individual units that have bugs while tweaking the production process to fix what issues have developed from the production versions. My guess is that we'll never know. But it does sound like the 972 has not had any issues so far (other than the obvious delays).

Fair enough.

I feel like a traitor but after 5 years with the 950 and finding the Onkyo 806 for less than $700, I pulled the plug on my 950 and went fully HDMI. I love Outlaw but the wait was too long. To make myself feel better I hooked up my Outlaw amp to the 806 and now use it as a preamp. I love all the features on the Onkyo.